Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to methods and apparatuses to contain test samples undergoing pressure testing operations. More particularly, methods and apparatuses disclosed herein relate to portable vessels to contain test specimens being tested with liquids and gasses at elevated pressures.
Description of the Related Art
Oilfield operations, like those of other industries, are increasingly carried out in varied and remote locations throughout the world. As a result, the ability to carry out tasks such as component testing, maintenance, and repair at the varied remote locations is highly desirable. One such task is the component pressure test.
Oilfield components are typically placed in high-temperature (e.g., in excess of 200° C.), high-pressure (e.g., in excess of 135 MPa, or 20 ksi), and high-shock (e.g., in excess of 20 g, or 196 m/s2, of acceleration) service. Oilfield components and tools are frequently submerged in subterranean wells drilled several kilometers beneath the earth's surface (or sea floor) where all three extremes (temperature, pressure, and shock) exist simultaneously. Often, such components include complex electronics, hydraulic regulation and distribution systems, and sensors that must be hydraulically or pneumatically isolated from their surroundings. Additionally, equipment used at the surface of such well locations, while not experiencing the same environments as their downhole counterparts, often interact with the downhole components such that their hydraulic and/or pneumatic integrity must also be tested and maintained if operations are to succeed.
Therefore, it is common for such components to be thoroughly proof tested to have their hydraulic and/or pneumatic integrity verified following assembly, maintenance, and repair, but prior to being shipped from a regional facility to the specific location where they are to be placed into service. Such integrity tests typically include connecting a test volume of a component specimen to be tested to a high-pressure testing system and surrounding or encapsulating the specimen in some form of containment vessel in the event that the component specimen experiences a catastrophic failure during the test. At such elevated pressures, tests performed with compressible fluids (e.g., gasses) may produce catastrophic results in the event of such a failure as the compressible nature of the fluid allows the build-up of significant potential energy (in the form of the compressed gas) that may experience an explosive kinetic release should the hydraulic and/or pneumatic integrity of the component specimen fail the pressure test.
As a result, elevated pressure tests are often performed in strictly controlled environments (e.g., in shielded and reinforced bunkers or subterranean facilities) such that should a component specimen exhibit a failure, damage to the surrounding structures, assets, and people may be reduced or prevented. However, as should be understood by those having ordinary skill, various components that are tested and verified at the regional facility may become damaged or may require additional service after they been delivered to a remote location. Such supplemental tests may be necessary because the component may require modification or repair before they are placed into service or, in certain circumstances, they have failed in service and must be repaired on-site quickly before a replacement can be obtained. With operating costs aboard many offshore rigs exceeding several hundred thousand U.S. dollars per day, the potential economic loss associated to shipping a mission-critical component back to the regional facility for repair and re-verification can be significant. With the potential economic cost of a component failure being so significant, operating companies would consider a portable, remote location-based pressure testing and verification solution to be highly desirable.